Category Archives: Ballads – Old Standards

Ballads and music from 1920’s through the 1960’s. Great cocktail music.

Black and Blue

Accordion Player Pat Posted on by

Black and Blue from 1929. Something quite different than I usually do. Just for fun. It seems quite the perfect Covid song, so I ended up playing and singing it. I don’t think my future is as a blue singer, but again having fun.

Musical Memories – Songs I remember hearing and playing when I grew up in the 1940’s and 1950’s. I often played out of the two old Black Fake Books my Mom bought. I thought I would share some of those wonderful songs of the past. Beautiful songs with rich chords, melodies, rhythms and wonderful words. How so many wonderful songs have been born from those 7 white keys and 5 black keys is a true miracle of music to me. The number of song choices is in the thousands. I hope you enjoy the little bit of the past I share with you.
Black and Blue”(What Did I Do to Be So) Black and Blue” is a 1929 jazz standard composed by Fats Waller with lyrics by Harry Brooks and Andy Razaf. It was introduced in the Broadway musical Hot Chocolates (1929) by Edith Wilson. Blues singer Ethel Waters’s 1930 version of the song became a hit, and the song has been recorded by many artists since then.… Read the rest

Ring Telephone Ring

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Ring Telephone Ring is another beautiful old song from 1941. It just felt like the kind of song to play on an old, grey winter day. Would like to have done it perfectly, but the gig is not a paying gig, so I didn’t bother to record it several times trying to be perfect. Perfect is a difficult goal at this age. Most people don’t listen to the songs more than 30 seconds, so I have that covered. I hope my friends enjoy the nostalgic song from the past. Ring Telephone, Ringwas written by Peter Tinturin & Buck Ram.… Read the rest

Silhouettes

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Silhouettes. Another fun, old song from 1957. I missed not having the doo-wops in the background, but did a little humming. LOL “Silhouettes” is a song made famous by the doo-wop group the Rays in 1957. A competing version by the Diamonds was also successful. In 1965 it was a number 5 hit in the US for Herman’s Hermits, and in 1990 it was a number 10 hit in the UK for Cliff Richard.… Read the rest

The Little White Cloud That Cried

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The Little White Cloud That Cried. So appropriate for the terrible times we are experiencing now. I was listening to some Johnnie Ray songs and heard this one today. I was only 7 years old back in 1951, but I remember this song and Cry. My Mom use to play the radio back then so I listened to all those great songs. I did not realize that I would still be listening almost 70 years later. Great music is timeless!!! I just love these old songs because they have such great lyrics and messages. Written by Johnnie Ray as a youngster, the song was the “B” side of Columbia Record’s first two-sided hit record. The “A” side was Ray’s first and biggest hit “Cry” and made it to #1 while “Cloud” made it to #2.… Read the rest

Please Mr. Sun

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Please Mr. Sun. I thought a sun song would be nice after the rain song yesterday. Some of my friends always ask why I don’t sing more. My answer is that I play accordion much better than I sing. LOL I did sing this one. Another pretty song from 1952. “Please, Mr. Sun” is a song written by Ray Getzov and Sid Frank and performed by Johnnie Ray featuring The Four Lads and the Jimmy Carroll Orchestra. It reached #6 on the U.S. pop chart in 1952. It was featured on his 1955 album, I Cry for You.… Read the rest

Rain

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Rain. I found this song when I was playing with Mr. Dino. Seemed like a great acoustic accordion song. I enjoyed playing it and decided to make a video. Not a wild, graphic action video – but just a mood piece with pretty chords. It is so beautifully written because Peter De Rose was the composer and he wrote fantastic songs. It was performed by Ella Fitzgerald in 1934. The nice video background is from Pixabay. Something a little different than Christmas songs.… Read the rest

Nuttin’ For Christmas

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Nuttin’ For Christmas. Still having fun, but a little sad since I’m getting nothing for Christmas! LOL Cute song. Had fun doing the music and video. I hope it brings a smile to your face as you reminisce about your childhood. Words and music by Roy Bennet and Sid Tepper 1955. Thank You to the wonderful artists at Pixabay for the cute graphics.… Read the rest

A Marshmallow World

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A Marshmallow World. We had beautiful snow this weekend and I thought of this song and Christmas. Mr. Dino and Mr. Roland collaborated on this one. My sister did her thing, the best she could. LOL I have the utmost respect for the wonderful accordionists that do difficult duo and trios. It is very difficult, at least for me. We tried to keep it together, but the snow separated us a few times! LOL I hope you enjoy this beautiful song. Thank You to Pixabay for the beautiful video backgrounds. The words by Carl Signam and music by Peter De Rose 1946 for this beautiful song.… Read the rest

Gotta Get Me Somebody To Love

Accordion Player Pat Posted on by

Gotta Get Me Somebody To Love. I was going through my really old books and found this song. Never heard it before, but really liked after playing it a few times. It sounded like a western song that a guitar or accordion player would sing and play around a campfire. So I dug up a campfire and did some singing and playing. Bing Crosby sang this song in 1946. So I am assuming it is about that old. It felt good sitting around the campfire on a chilly night. LOL… Read the rest

Count Your Blessings

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Count Your Blessings. Happy Thanksgiving. I have always like this song and often played it. It really touches my heart. I think my Roland 4X did a great job with fantastic strings and violin. It is often difficult to realize how blessed we are during times of turmoil. “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” is a popular song written by Irving Berlin and used in the 1954 film White Christmas. It is commonly performed as a Christmas song, although the lyrics make no reference to the December holiday. Thank You to vimeo-free-videos at pixabay for the beautiful background.” If you’re worried and you can’t sleep, Just count your blessings instead of sheep and you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings”… Read the rest

Green Green

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Green Green is another song from my college days. We all liked to sing folks songs back then. I even traded my old accordion in at the pawn shop for a guitar! Accoridonless until 1981. My ex and I started to play as a duo then. This is just a little toe taping music to help you get ready to prepare your Thanksgiving meals! “Green, Green”, a 1963 hit single by The New Christy Minstrels.… Read the rest